


What's in a Name

by 4ce_in_sp4ce



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Fluff, I am only vaguely aware of how legal name changes happen, I completely made up Arthur's last name, M/M, Name Changes, Trans Arthur, deadname referencing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:21:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26411053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4ce_in_sp4ce/pseuds/4ce_in_sp4ce
Summary: To the people he cared about, Arthur had always been 'Arthur'. A piece of paper from a country he didn't live in and had long since cut any meaningful ties with didn't change that, and it shouldn't mean anything. But it still did.
Relationships: Arthur/Eames (Inception)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 54





	What's in a Name

Arthur closed the door behind him, glad to finally be back. He hadn’t meant to stay at the workshop so late but their current mark had a history with extraction so Arthur’d found himself with far more information to parse through than normal, trying to decipher how much of a threat the mark posed and how much they needed to plan for sub-security. By the time he’d glanced at his watch it’d been almost 8pm and he was the only one in the workshop. 

“I was starting to wonder if you were actually coming home tonight, or if you were just going to sleep in the workshop.” Eames’ voice drifted in from the kitchen and Arthur could smell something cooking. “Knowing you, it could honestly go either way.”

Arthur smiled as he hung up his coat. “Just got a bit caught up working, that’s all.” He wandered into the main part of the apartment, raising an eyebrow when he saw Eames at the counter cutting up vegetables. “Bit late to be cooking, isn’t it? It’s nearly 9.”

“Eh, I guess I got a bit distracted too.” Eames shrugged. “I’m assuming you haven’t eaten yet?”

Arthur leaned up to kiss his cheek as he walked by. “Not yet.”

Eames smiled. “Perfect.” He motioned towards the table before going back to slicing. “Something came in the mail for you today.”

Arthur frowned. That was odd. Old habits died hard and both of them were used to living under aliases and false names and constantly being on the go, so they rarely got mail in general even now that they had a somewhat semi-permanent address. Sure enough, though, there was an open envelope laying on the table, folded letter next to it. He picked it up, curious.

_Mr. Harris,_

_Your filed Petition for a legal name change has been reviewed by the Court and, finding no reasonable objection to the change of name proposed, accepted. An order authorizing your legal use of the name ‘Arthur Harris’ will be published 20 days from the date of this letter. All legally binding documents prior to this date referring to ‘Charlotte Harris’ will still be recognized but all documents following this date must refer to ‘Arthur Harris’ to be legally recognized and binding._

Arthur stared at the letter, barely comprehending it. He long accepted the fact that his legal name would be his deadname. He hadn’t liked it but there hadn’t been much he could do about it, and ultimately it hadn’t really mattered anyway. He was an extractor. His legal name meant nothing. It had always hurt somewhat, though, knowing he hadn’t had the chance to change it. That his name, his _actual_ name, wasn’t legally his.

“You always said that was the one thing you regretted.” Eames came up behind him, wrapping his arms around Arthur’s waist. “That you wished you’d changed your name before becoming an extractor.”

“Eames…” Arthur couldn’t stop looking at the letter. He felt almost lightheaded, his breath catching in his throat as he read and reread the words over and over again. “Is…is this…?”

“I had to forge a few things to get everything in line, but this is completely authentic.” Eames rested his chin on Arthur’s shoulder. “In the eyes of the United States government, you are officially recognized as Arthur Harris.”

Arthur turned, pulling Eames into the tightest hug he could manage. No one had known him by his deadname in years, and all the people in his life that he cared about knew him as Arthur. They always had. A piece of paper in a country where he didn’t live and had long since cut all meaningful ties to didn’t change that. But it meant something. A lot. And the fact that Eames had done it, not because Arthur had asked him to but because he knew what it would mean to him, meant even more. He took a deep breath, face buried against Eames’ neck. “Thank you.”

“I didn’t want to tell you until I knew it had gone through successfully. But you deserve it. You deserve to be recognized as who you are.”

Arthur pulled back after a moment. His vision was blurry, but he could see Eames smiling at him. “Eames, I don’t…what this _means_ to me…you don’t…” His breath caught in his throat again as he tried to find the words. A few tears spilled over and his vision cleared somewhat. “Thank you.”

Eames wiped them away gently. “Of course. Anything for you, darling.” He leaned in and kissed Arthur’s cheek before walking back over to the counter. “Dinner to celebrate?”

“That sounds wonderful.” Arthur read through the letter one last time before setting it back down on the table, still barely able to believe it. “Wait, is that why you waited so long to start cooking?”

“Well, there’s no use in having a celebratory dinner if one of us is still working, is there?”

“I guess not.” He followed Eames into the kitchen, draping his arms loosely around Eames’ waist as he went back to cutting up vegetables. Arthur couldn’t keep the smile off his face as the reality of what had happened continued to set in. He was Arthur Harris. Not just to his friends or his partner, but in the eyes of the law. He never thought he’d get to know what that felt like, and god it felt even better than he’d imagined. He rested his forehead against the back of Eames’ neck, warmth and a giddy happiness building in his chest and he couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Thank you.” He knew he’d already said it, but it didn’t matter. He’d say it a thousand times and he still wouldn’t be able to thank Eames enough. “You have no idea how much this means to me.” He could feel himself starting to tear up again, and couldn’t bring himself to care in the least. Instead, he just hugged Eames a little tighter, still smiling. “ _Thank you_.”

**Author's Note:**

> me? projecting onto my favourite characters? it's more likely than you think


End file.
